Our Key Stage 2 Sports Day was a great success this year. Once again the favourite event for the pupils was the Tug o War! Eventually the winning team emerged... Cricklade (Green). However the result was very close, with the Yellows less than 15 points behind.

Broadford Primary took part in the recent Hall Mead Maths Quiz for Primary schools. Over 40 of the local schools were represented, in what is Havering's largest maths competition. The competition is based on team work and independence. The pupils are free to answer the questions in any order and assign as much time as they need within limits.

Well done to our super mathematicians who represented Broadford at the recent Hall Mead maths quiz. Melisa, Olamide, Samson & Isaac once again managed to raise the bar and scored the highest total we have ever had in the competition and placed very well against the other schools.

"We had to work really well as a team as almost all the questions were word problems or unusual challenges. Working together meant that we could share ideas and not just get stuck."Samson

Thank you to Eriya and Sascha who both teamed up to create a great narrative. Working in their own time the writing duo have come up with a great adventure story, which they then shared with their class.

We had really enjoyed the story lessons in class and wanted to do our own at home. I really enjoyed working with Eriya!Sascha

Well done to our Year 4 sports heroes. Their powerful performance at the Harold Hill sports day meant that they won they trophy! This is the second time that this cohort have won. Last year they also topped the Year 3 rankings.

We have worked on our sprinting and relays. Last year we almost dropped the baton, so we didn't want s repeat. Mr Portway really helped us improve this year.

Well done to our KS2 sports teams for the way they reprsented us in the recent Harold Hill Sports Event. Thanks to their running, jumping and throwing skills we managed to finish very high up the leader board in each part of the competition.

We were very proud of how well the pupils trained this year. All of them gave up lunch times to get in extra practise!Miss Cook

Thank you to all the parents, family and friends who came out to cheer the children along in Sports Day this year. There was a great festival of jumping, balancing, sprinting and throwing. After a whole range of events it was the Blue team - Chatteris - who emerged victorious.

We were delighted to have a visit at the end of term from Darrin Disley - local boy turned science entrepreneur! He came to talk to the children about his early school life, how his career developed, what his company does, how they could possibly help in the future and the lessons he has learned from his journey.

Darrin gave a refreshingly honest and frank account of the difficulties and barriers he has had to overcome in order to get to where he is today. For our pupils to hear that it is possible to control your own destiny and that it is never to late to grab an opportunity was a really improtant message.

Mr Drakes - Headteacher

Resilience

The pupils heard all about how Darrin had to show great resilience as many of his first companies collapsed. It was at his fifth attempt that he managed to get a company off the ground, by which time many others would have given up.

Darrin talked at length about the pioneering work he is doing with his Horizon Discovery company and the use of Big Bata to help solve some very challenging problems.

What were Darrin's top tips?

Find something you enjoy and do it well

Find a resilience that enables you to focus and my take on everyone else's worries. Everyone is under external pressures and you have to succeed despite themselves

Everyone will have an opportunity for success - recognise and take it! You must have the confidence to my just have the dream but to make it a reality.

Don't tie yourself up with material goods. Use your salary to create space for yourself so that you can act on your dreams

Don't establish a family without thought. Is it the right time, can you afford it, how will it impact your education.

100% of the pupils said that they had a much better understanding of how science can help them have a career.

100% of those involved said that they now understood why science is such an important subject for developing the future

I really enjoyed the talk from Darrin. He has managed to come from a single parent background. If he can make it, then I can as well.

Mason

I hadn't realised all of the problems that come with people living longer. There isn't any point living until you are 150 if you are going to be in poor health. It sounds like there is lots to be done.

To celebrate the achievements of the pupils during their time at Broadford

To reflect on the lessons they have learnt while pupils at the school

To think about where they are aiming for: what career, what book to read, what qualifications to achieve

When the pupils completed their time at Primary school they will have been in one place - or in one Phase of their education - for eight years. This is longer than they will spend at any other stage of their education - 45% of the Year group have spent this entire eight year time span at Broadford. Secondary school is only for five years, Sixth form college is two, University is just 3... Mr Drakes's longest job has been for five. Therefore it is a perfect time to stop and reflect on how much they have all grown and developed during the Primary years.

At first it is a time where you are defined by what you can't do: Nursery pupils often can't read, they struggle to care for themselves and sharing is a challenge. After eight years they are defined by what they can do: tackle problems, work as a team, read confidently and infer meaning, use a range of technology and surpass National standards!

All of our pupils have had significant successes to celebrate - and the evening was a great way to showcase their different achievements. We have had accomplished cyclists, artists, musicians, mathematicians, star writers, dancers, singers and excellent sportsmen.

With this confidence and bedrock of positive experiences the challenge will be to aim high and carry on that achievement. But aiming has risks. Because GCSEs are five years away the danger is to put off reading that book, or to delay in completing your homework. The challenge is to realise that the future starts now. If you are to spring forward from Broadford and go onto put a dent in the universe, the time to act is now! What are you doing now, this minute to be a better pupil, a better person a better brother/sister? If our pupils can focus on the now and improve 1% at a time then it is far more likely they will achieve those aspirational goals.

What have they learnt? We hope that in reflection there will be three important things they remember from their time at Broadford...

Turn up on time every day

Do your best... always

Be kind and polite to everyone you meet

If our Year 6 graduates this year can remember these 3 lessons then they will go on to great things!

Well done to our class of 2016. We are very proud of what you have achieved and know that you will go on to put a Broadford sized dent in the universe!

Congratulations to Temira Hascar who has won the Broadford's Got Talent event for 2016. Her singing act - performing a Michael Jackson hit - was the stand out performance amongst a very talented crowd.

We believe that our pupils have an array of talents and interests that should be celebrated - it shouldn't just be a focus on their English and Maths. We also believe in giving the pupils autonomy and the change to organise their own events, so that they can demonstrate and apply their leadership skills. Katherine and Melisa were great hosts who helped top organise the proceedings and ensure the whole event ran smoothly.

In order to take part, pupils had to audition in front of a panel. Sadly it wasn't possible to include everyone, but we have no doubt that they will be next year. Those who were able to make the final then had to perform infront of the whole school and a panel of judges.

Once all the acts had performed there was then the very difficult task of having to choose the winner.

This year it was really tough to decide on a winner. The dancing, singing and musical instrument recitals were of a very high quality. However Temira's act had the edge as she gave a very emotional rendition of the song.Mr Steve 'Walliams' Portway
We would also like to thank our Chair of Governors - Chris Kent - who donated some wonderful prizes for our winners from John Lewis.

Job #1 at Broadford is to 'Turn Up on Time EVERY DAY'. To recognise the achievement of the pupils and families in achieving this goal we have our annual Bouncy Castle Day.

Those pupils who have managed to maintain an attendance rate above 96% are rewarded with an extra session on the inflatables.

Later in the afternoon it is then the turn of the whole school to come out and enjoy the bouncing as recognition for completing Job #2... Do you best in every lesson!

I look forward to this day every year. I know that if I turn up and work hard the teachers will notice and I will get extra time on the bouncy castles and free ice cream!Ella NashThis year I was so pleased I managed to improve my attendance and get the extra session. Last year I missed outSophie
Well done to all of our pupils for helping to contribute towards another successful year at Broadford!

On July 6th we enjoyed a very successful evening of Country Dancing at Pyrgo Priory. The vast majority of schools from the Harold Hill area were able to take part, which created a wonderful community atmosphere. Attended by the Mayor, the annual event was enjoyed by all.

We had to practise the dances at school. I was very nervous in front of the big crowd, but my partner helped meConor Holloway
Each of the schools (Mead, Broadford, Pyrgo, Brookside, Drapers Maylands) performed a routine, before all of the adults were invited to join the floor for a group dance.

As ever this was a very successful event which bought all of our schools together to celebrate a great British tradition. Thank you to Pyrgo Priory for doing the organising and being such great hosts.Mr Drakes - Head

We were delighted to hear this July that our application to become a National Teaching School had been accepted. As a teaching school, we will identify, develop and co-ordinate expertise for the benefit of pupils across a network of schools, resulting in:

better results for pupils

fewer poorly performing schools

more good and outstanding schools

a self-improving and sustainable system

There are 6 core areas of responsibility for teaching schools.

In addition we will be responsible at Broadford for developing 3 key areas for the benefit of not just our pupils, but all of those in Havering.

lead the development of school-led initial teacher training through School Direct or by gaining accreditation as an initial teacher training provider

take an active role in the recruitment and selection of trainee teachers

have a clear plan for teacher training, including:

give access to outstanding lessons and teachers for observation and planning

provide mentoring training and development

provide quality assurance

co-ordination of initial teacher training with professional development opportunities

2. Continuing professional development
We expect to offer a range of professional development opportunities for teachers and school support staff, extending our strong learning culture to schools we work with. These must build on initial teacher training and induction. We will:

identify the best teachers and leaders from across the alliance to provide school-based professional development

tailor development to meet the specific needs of schools

offer coaching and mentoring

evaluate the impact of professional development across the alliance

offer opportunities for formal accreditation or school-based research

3. Supporting other schools
We expect to lead the co-ordination of school-to-school support. This usually involves working with a school or academy in challenging circumstances to bring about improvement.

We will need to identify priorities in our area and support under-performing schools and academies. Local authorities, dioceses and chains may also work with us to support schools in need of improvement.

We will help to ensure that the best leaders are working to improve the quality of teaching and leadership where it is most needed.

This includes deciding how to use the services of system leaders to provide support to other schools, such as:

middle and senior leaders working as specialist leaders of education

headteachers working as local and national leaders of education

chairs of governors working as national leaders of governance

Information on these can be found in our guide to system leader roles.

4. Identifying and developing leadership potential
We expect to develop successful succession planning strategies to identify and develop people to fill leadership positions in the future.

To meet this responsibility, we will:

develop future headteachers to help meet the most pressing national needs in primary, small rural, special, challenging urban/coastal and faith schools

take action to help to more women and leaders from black and minority ethnic backgrounds to become senior leaders

put processes in place to identify potential leaders in areas of need

develop potential leaders within and across your schools

build strategic governance and partnerships in order to make decisions about developing and placing potential leaders

It is a great opportunity to develop the culture at Broadford further and use the progress we have made to have a positive impact on others in our local and national school communities.

Our pupils are always amazed to find that we have our own bit of living history at Broadford Primary. Mrs Taylor, Mrs Clements, Mrs Pike and Mrs Stallard have over 80 years of experience of not just working at Broadford but also attending school here too!

It is always one of the highlights of the year when the Year 3 pupils are treated to their historical recounts of what it was like to be a pupil at Broadford 'in the olden days'.

They told us that there wasn't an internet. The boards just had chalk and there wasn't any music in the playground. It must have been really boring!Archy Gore
Sadly this year is the last time that the guided tours will run as the old building will be demolished by the end of August. However we will still have their memories and love of a good story to bring the past to life for our pupils!

Our Year 1 pupils have shown real resilience to complete their own version of the Broadford mosaic in their art work.

ReciprocityThe team have been working well together for a week to complete this. The design idea was their choice. They even divided up the jobs. Some had to cut out the squares, while Archie and Layla did a lot of the sticking.Miss Hammond
It is also clear that the pupils have shown great resilience to keep going with the task as it involved a lot of squares! Well done.

One of the key things that will change next year is that it will no longer be possible to have the same 'Holly Jackpot' in the morning. Each day we wait with bated breath to see if we can get Holly Clark, Holly Chilvers and Holly Maskell to walk through the gate at the same time together.

A huge thank you to Daniel who made a very generous gift to the library in his final week at Broadford.

I am a big fan of the Percy Jackson books. I thought that someone else would like to read them too. I wanted to leave something behind after I have gone because I have really enjoyed my time at Broadford.Daniel
We are very grateful for your gift Daniel and know that the books will be very popular.

Well done to our Year 6 pupils who excelled during the recent KS2 tests. Although we were delighted by the overall performance, there were some stand out scores who deserved special recognition.

Charlotte, Katherine, Sophie and Simona all exceeded expectations with their scores across the areas of Reading, SPaG and Maths. They either had the highest total score in a specific area or had made the most progress this year from their starting points in September.

Did you know that butterflies can't hear, but they can feel vibrations? I was also amazed to find out that butterflies taste with their feet!

Martina Rensch

In my research I found out that butterflies don't have lungs. Instead they are able to breathe through openings on their abdomen called 'spiracles'.

Sascha RaifDid you know that black holes are massive objects – collections of mass – with gravity so strong that nothing can escape, not even light? The most common types of black holes are the stellar-mass and supermassive black holes.

Well done to Plamen and Iasha who collected their Team London awards. Both of them have been an integral part of our Team Broadford campaign this year to raise community involvement and promote the #wearekind project.

I have really enjoyed being part of the project this year. We have had an impact not just in our own school but in others too. Recently we had an email from another London school who saw our idea and tried it in their school - that made me feel really proud!Plamen Vasilev
Thank you both for the volunteering hours you have contributed.

Throughout the year we have been leading a fundraising drive for Great Ormond Street. They came in during the last week to accept the latest cheque from the children.

It was great to be able to give the hospital such a big cheque. In our School Council meetings we looked at the work done by the charity and it was an easy choice for our charity of the year.Jack Barnett - School Council President
With sponsored staff runs up the BT Tower, bake offs, dress as you like days and sponsored walks everyone has played their part in raising over £3,000 this year.

I have been so proud of the way that the children have campaigned to raise awareness of the hospital and what they do every day. The School Council delegates used their own time to create presentations and then went back to class buzzing with information and incredible stories to inspire the pupils.Miss Connell - School Council Lead
Thank you for all your support as parents. Together I am sure we will achieve similar feats of fundraising next year.

We are delighted to inform that the classrooms in the Junior part of the building have now had their flooring upgraded. Maple and Ash were the last two classes to be completed, meaning that all pupils now have smart, resilient flooring in their learning environment.

In addition we have improvements to the interactive screens, a new server and the demolition of the old building... all of which will lead to a much improved set of facilities for our pupils!

This week we are saying farewell to a several of our teachers, who are moving on to new opportunities in September. Miss Porter, Mrs Hoffman, Mrs Greening, Miss Corrales and Miss Reynolds - together they have contributed over 28 years of teaching to Broadford Primary. On your behalf we would like to wish them all the best for their new roles and thank them for the positive impact they have had on our pupils and families.

In our first newsletter in September we will introduce the new staff joining our team: Mr Light, Mr Nicol, Miss Taylor, Miss Pearson and Miss McGrath.

Thursday, 21 July 2016

Each summer Miss Sparkes runs the reading competition where you have to get caught with a book in an unusual place. We've seen children reading in: airports, on sun loungers, in trampoline enclosures, on the beach and by a palace! All you need to do is snap a photo of your child reading their book and message it to us via the school Facebook page, or email it to office@broadford.havering.sch.uk

Miss Sparkes will judge the winning entries on the return in September, with the best photos earning a prize and certificate… so get reading!

At the Year 6 Celebration Evening on Wednesday we spoke to the children about how this time of the year is one where it is appropriate to celebrate, reflect and aim. Certainly our Broadford community have a number of reasons to celebrate based on the achievements of 2015-16: TES Award winners; pupils presenting at WE DAY; National Teaching School Status; results significantly above national levels at KS2; the finals of Count On Us; Team London recognition and confirmation of the demolition of the old school to allow the next stage of expansion. This is not the total of the achievements by any means, which shows that we have sustained the pace of improvement set in previous years.

When we reflect on the year, it is worth considering the rapid growth of the school. To date we have managed to maintain the strong community feel and ethos that we have: where we know the name of every child and have the highest of aspirations for all. In 2011 we had 274 pupils, now we have 550 and by September this will be near 600. In the next 18 months we are likely to grow to nearer 700 pupils. While it is good to see the old building torn down and replaced by a modern, high quality environment we don’t want to loose the values and close knit ties which have made our school such a special place to learn and work.

Finally, where do we aim? The answer is the same as ever… for the stars! Each year we have blazed a trail for Harold Hill and our local community. In 2011 we wanted to be the best school on the hill, then we aimed to be the most successful in Havering, after that we got into the top 1% of the country (and sustained it for 3 years) and now we have National Teaching School status - with educators from St Louis, Missouri travelling thousands of miles to meet our pupils and see our teachers at work. As we look ahead into 2016-17 we have a fantastic opportunity with the new Learning Federation. Our formal partnership with Mead makes us the largest combined school community in the whole of Havering. Our schools have unrivalled outdoor spaces, equally excellent academic results and two sets of hungry, enthusiastic teachers. In the next 12 months we can have a positive and direct impact on our local community and help support others through our Teaching School. For these reasons I couldn't be more excited about the opportunities that await us and the benefits that we will reap for your children.

To help facilitate this next step on our journey we are changing the leadership structure of the two schools. From the 1st July I was appointed as the Interim Executive Headteacher of both Mead and Broadford Primary. I feel extremely proud to have been given this opportunity by the new Governing Board, and will be doing my utmost to ensure that we again sustain the pace of improvement and achievement in both schools. It means that from July, I am delighted to inform you that Mrs Nicholls will be taking over as Interim Headteacher of Broadford Primary, while Mrs Smith becomes the Interim Headteacher at Mead. Mrs Nicholls will have full responsibility for the care of Broadford pupils and staff, while my role will be to provide more strategic support and direction for the Federation and the two Headteachers.

Therefore this seems like a very good point at which to say thank you for all the help, support and encouragement you have offered over the last five years. Whilst I always had high aspirations for what we could achieve, we have surpassed what I would have thought possible on that first wet and windy day in September 2011 when I met many of you for the first time. I know that you will extend Mrs Nicholls that same support and encouragement as she seeks to move the school forward to new achievements… your children couldn’t be in better hands.

All that leaves me to do is to wish you a relaxing and enjoyable summer break. If you are travelling, then we wish you a safe journey and we look forward to seeing you rested and refreshed for the start of the new school year on September 7th.

Our End of Year awards are to recognise pupils who have shown our desired learning attributes not just for a week, not even a month... but for a whole year! By seething such consistently high standards they have made great personal progress and been a role model for other pupils.

Our End of Year awards are to recognise pupils who have shown our desired learning attributes not just for a week, not even a month... but for a whole year! By seething such consistently high standards they have made great personal progress and been a role model for other pupils.

Our End of Year awards are to recognise pupils who have shown our desired learning attributes not just for a week, not even a month... but for a whole year! By seething such consistently high standards they have made great personal progress and been a role model for other pupils.

We believe that if you practise in a meaningful way, regularly then you can achieve great things. These pupils have all applied this attitude to learning across the whole year, reaping the rewards in their spelling. All three - Rashida, Sam Murcia & Finley Livingstone - have managed to achieve three perfect terms of spelling!

Well done to all of you... and enjoy the vouchers: You have well and truly earned them.

Our End of Year awards are to recognise pupils who have shown our desired learning attributes not just for a week, not even a month... but for a whole year! By seething such consistently high standards they have made great personal progress and been a role model for other pupils.

The Classmate of the Year award is probably the most special of all the awards as it is chosen by the pupils themselves. Every class spends some reflection time thinking about which classmate has best demonstrated the school values:

Who has turned up on time every day?

Who has consistently done their best in every lesson of every day of every week?

Which pupil has always shown kindness and politeness to others and been a god friend?

Who has shown resilience when there have been problems or difficulties?

Which member of the class has worked well in pairs of in a group?

Who has been resourceful when faced with problems and always has an idea to use?

Which classmate is able to reflect on their learning and think of ways to improve?

The pupils then vote for the classmate they believe best fits the above criteria... and this year the winners were:

Our End of Year awards are to recognise pupils who have shown our desired learning attributes not just for a week, not even a month... but for a whole year! By seething such consistently high standards they have made great personal progress and been a role model for other pupils.

The Reciprocity Award is for pupils who have consistently shown that they can:

show interdependence with their learning

collaborate effectively with partners and as part of a larger group

demonstrate empathy for others feelings and ideas

be able to imitate examples and ideas from others to improve their own understanding

Our End of Year awards are to recognise pupils who have shown our desired learning attributes not just for a week, not even a month... but for a whole year! By seething such consistently high standards they have made great personal progress and been a role model for other pupils.

Monday, 11 July 2016

We had a very positive Federation meeting for parents on July 4th. Parents from both schools meet at Mead to discuss how they are feeling about the recent changes, meet the new Governing Board, ask questions about the new arrangements and hear what changes are already planned for both schools.What benefits will my children see?
Working as two schools means that we can offer much wider curriculum opportunities. Mead pupils have already benefitted from author days at Broadford and a writer's workshop. Broadford pupils have benefitted from the chance to attend a careers fair. Now that the Federation is confirmed, our teachers have already met to plan regular collaboration for next year and a whole range of joint activities.

Will Broadford pupils have to move to Mead if there isn't enough space?
Both schools remain separate entities and admissions are governed by Havering. Pupils do not need to be housed at different sites - both schools have ample space to look after their own pupils. If parents wanted to move between the two schools they would have to use the standard procedure with the Borough.Who will be in charge at each school?
Each school will have its own Head of School, while there will be one Executive Headteacher in place over both schools. For an interim period these posts will be filled by:
Mr Drakes (Executive Head)
Mrs Smith (Mead Head of School)
Mrs Nicholls (Broadford Head of School)What is different about the Governing Body?
There is now one Governing Board that has oversight across both schools. Previously here were two Governing bodies who acted independently

Why will a Federation improve our schools?
There will be a clear vision for the two schools focused on how we can use high quality education to ensure that pupils' backgrounds don't impact on future achievement. Teachers will benefit from collaborative working and sharing best practice. Pupils will have a wider community in which to work and play. Financially the two schools will be able to get much better pricing and deals on purchases.Will the new Federation raise standards?
It is our intention to ensure that both schools have outstanding results. This year both schools have exceeded national achievements by over 25%!

We had two recent Literacy Trust activities for our readers, which were promoted in the library. Kimberley & Libby have been taking part in the Chatter Books and Magical Forest Challenges.

Meanwhile Sacha and Plamen have been avidly reading all of the Harry Potter books to collect their magic reading certificates.

I had to read all of the titles in the series. My favourite was the Prisoner of Azkaban because the dementors sounded really frightening. SachaIn order to complete the journey I had to answer some questions about the text and do challenges for Miss SparkesKimberley Stewart.